Miriam LaVelle is one of the many
entertainers who've been re-discovered decades after they faded from view,
and who've now acquired an enthusiastic fan-base - all thanks to YouTube.
Known as a speciality/acrobatic dancer, Ms
LaVelle performed at theatres and nightclubs in America, her home patch
being New York City. She also made brief appearances in several mainstream
films between 1943 and 1944, and her fabulous dancing was showcased in a
1946 VodVil short.
In her heyday, Miriam LaVelle was well rated
by Billboard magazine, though with variety acts in abundance, she was one of
the many hundreds of entertainers providing standard fare of the time. But
what a lovely, talented young lady. And what a shame so few examples of her
dancing appear to have been captured on film. Even photos of Miriam LaVelle
are rare, many comprising murky half-tone images from
newspaper archives.
Researching the Internet has yielded
references to Ms LaVelle spanning 1941 through 1950. Information recently
received from someone who tracked her career alleges that an obituary notice
referred to Ms LaVelle's passing aged 31 in 1958.
Your help needed!
Do you know anything about this fascinating
lady? By initiating this small project, I'm appealing to the world for
information of any kind relating to Ms LaVelle. As a visitor to this
website, please consider yourself empowered as a Private Eye, a
Super-Sleuth, a Gumshoe, a Special Agent, an Informant, a Mole, a Snitch, an
Investigator, a G-Man, a Fed, an Undercover Agent, or whatever it takes to
unearth more pieces of this intriguing jigsaw puzzle. Because somewhere
someone will recall Ms LaVelle during the years 1950 - 1958.
Julian Bonser |